Goose Island

Goose Island's website banner declares with sad irony "Chicago's Craft Beer," while this morning I read that the brewery that I once lived just down the street from has sold out to InBev. Of course the spin is that you will retain complete control over the craft brewing process, located in Chicago. The simple truth is that the beer will, if not immediately, soon be manufactured in many locations by several different breweries to satisfy unabashed growth. Growth over quality, growth over integrity,...

Cider is typically served cold, but it is one hot drink. The alcoholic drink, made from fermented apple juice, is staging what some consider to be a long overdue comeback in America, aided by the country's top brewers launching ciders and armed with hefty marketing budgets. At the same time, smaller cider-makers are securing money for expansion, two local restaurant operators are planning Chicago locations focused on the drink, and there's even a biannual magazine dedicated to the...

Today is one of Chicago's biggest beer days of the year: the release of Goose Island's legendary Bourbon County Stout. And legendary is no exaggeration. BCS, as it is called in beer circles, is widely considered the first beer aged in whiskey barrels, which has become a staple in craft brewing. While BCS usually lands in the hands of craft beer lovers (and collectors) with barely a moment on the shelves, it should be easier to track down than in years past. Brewery...

United Airlines will soon debut a hometown brew: Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale is coming to the Chicago-based airline's worldwide flights and its U.S. airport clubs on July 1. The Chicago-based airline will officially announce the partnership Friday. The beer will cost $8 in coach and will be free for business- and first-class fliers. In United Clubs, a serving will cost $3. United will host a special happy hour on Tuesday to celebrate the new beer. The beer will...

What it is: Hop-forward beers have not been a forte of Goose Island for much of the brewery's existence, but that's changing. The Chicago-born, Anheuser Busch-owned brewery is launching two projects that both embrace hops: Its new limited release series will lead to three nationally distributed hoppy beers, the first of which, Ten Hills Pale Ale, is already in stores. Another series of stronger, imperial beers has also launched, and the first is possibly the best hoppy beer Goose has...

A city panel gave the go-ahead today to earmarking $10 million in local public funds to help pay for turning a former window factory on Goose Island into a high tech manufacturing hub that Mayor Rahm Emanuel hopes will help increase private investment in that sector of Chicago's economy. The Community Development Commission gave its OK to using the $10 million in tax-increment financing money to help cover the cost of converting the former Republic Windows and Doors building into...

Among Andy Goeler's most notable achievements during a 32-year career at Anheuser- Busch (AB) has been overseeing the growth of Shock Top, a wheat beer with a label bearing an orange wearing sunglasses and a mohawk. It was a classic example of a major brewer trying to infiltrate the world of craft beer, though it did more to take a bite out of MillerCoors' Blue Moon than give most craft beer drinkers a legitimate alternative. For that, AB and parent company InBev had to buy Goose Island last...

Does Jonathan Toews know who Lana Del Rey is? Does Del Rey know who Toews is? It's unclear, but the Blackhawks star and singer/songwriter both happened to dine Friday at Japonais by Morimoto. No word on if the two crossed paths at the Goose Island neighborhood restaurant. Del Rey - who was in town for her show Friday at the Aragon - also visited Acchaa Beauty + Wellness Spa in River North that day. A spokeswoman for the spa said Del Rey had her eyebrows threaded and...

A Chicago Police officer was injured and taken to a hospital after a motorist he'd pulled over began fighting with him early this morning in the West Town community. The incident happened about 3 a.m. as the officer was conducting a traffic stop in the 900 block of North Willard Court, police said. “The driver got combative," said one police officer on the scene, who added the two pushed and shoved and the officer appeared to have been punched. The fight escalated...

There was something missing as Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke on the Far Northwest Side in March to offer an explanation on what City Hall was doing about the roads after a winter that "left nothing but potholes and pockmarks throughout the city of Chicago. " A pothole crew was on hand. So was the city's new transportation commissioner. The stretch of Bryn Mawr Avenue, however, was unblemished. What the street lacked in visuals, it made up for in its location near...

Ladies and gentlemen, the Bourbon County Brand Stout beers you will not be drinking from Goose Island this year: Blood Orange BCS. Chicory BCS. Mole BCS (with three kinds of chilies). Mint Chocolate BCS. Oregon Huckleberry BCS. "That one tasted terrible," Goose Island brew master Brett Porter said of the huckleberry effort, which was his idea. "The fruit is quite lovely, but the seed character took over. " Every year Goose Island attempts several styles of its lauded...

Books become TV series. Amusement park rides become movies. Pop songs become Broadway musicals. But how do you adapt a city into a video game? How do you digitize the essence of a major American metropolis within the framework of a playable experience? Can you hope to capture the geography and character of a real place in a game ? Should you aim for accuracy? Or reinvent that place to make it work for you? These are 21st-century questions. Several years ago Sony...

John Laffler brews beer to be consumed, not memorialized. It's why the Goose Island brewer patiently waits nine months to two years for his barrel-aged beers to mature. "I really reject the notion that beer is meant to be collected," Laffler said, referring to some of the bourbon barrels he used to brew Goose Island's now-retired Bourbon County Rare. "Beer is a reflection of time and a moment. It's not meant to be kept forever. " Laffler, who started with Chicago-based Goose Island...

The city's first "culinary" brewery is set to debut, but don't expect its ingredient-heavy beers on liquor store shelves or at most bars. Moody Tongue beers, appropriately enough, will be on tap at the city's most adventurous restaurants. Brewery founder Jared Rouben said his first kegs are headed to restaurants that include The Publican, Dusek's, Vie, Old Town Social, Hot Chocolate, Nightwood, GT Fish & Oyster, Longman & Eagle and The Bristol. Though he plans to package...

John Hall, who founded Goose Island Beer Company as a small brewpub in 1988 and sold it to Anheuser-Busch as one of the nation's major craft brands last year, is leaving his post as chief executive officer, the company announced today. On Jan. 1, 30-year Anheuser-Busch veteran Andy Goeler will take over as Goose Island CEO and president, AB said in a memo to employees. Goeler has most recently served as AB's vice president of import, craft and specialty brands. Goeler has worked on...

Cheese and wine on a lazy Saturday, what could be better? Well, how about some artisanal salami? And local (and imported) craft beers? And lots more. It's all free at Pastoral's Artisan Producer Festival on Saturday at Chicago French Market. On hand will be nearly 100 artisan producers of food, beer, wines and spirits who sell their wares at Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine's three Chicago shops. Festivalgoers can chat with producers and taste their products. Among the nearly 30...

Chicago firefighters rescued a man in the Chicago River near Goose Island at Division and Elston Streets early Friday morning, according to the Chicago Fire Department. He was taken to St. Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, said Cmdr. Will Knight, a fire department spokesman. The Chicago Police Department's Marine Unit also responded but the man was out of the water before they arrived, Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said. It's not clear why the man...

What it is: Hop-forward beers have not been a forte of Goose Island for much of the brewery's existence, but that's changing. The Chicago-born, Anheuser Busch-owned brewery is launching two projects that both embrace hops: Its new limited release series will lead to three nationally distributed hoppy beers, the first of which, Ten Hills Pale Ale, is already in stores. Another series of stronger, imperial beers has also launched, and the first is possibly the best hoppy beer Goose has...

United Airlines will soon debut a hometown brew: Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale is coming to the Chicago-based airline's worldwide flights and its U.S. airport clubs on July 1. The Chicago-based airline will officially announce the partnership Friday. The beer will cost $8 in coach and will be free for business- and first-class fliers. In United Clubs, a serving will cost $3. United will host a special happy hour on Tuesday to celebrate the new beer. The beer will...

After 25 years, Goose Island finally has a home field advantage at Wrigley Field. Chicago's longest-tenured beer maker will be abundant at Clark and Addison this season for the first time, with both 312 Urban Wheat Ale and the newly released 312 Urban Pale Ale to be sold by vendors throughout the stadium, according to the Cubs. Goose's Green Line (a pale ale available only in Chicago and on draft), Matilda (a Belgian-style pale ale) and Sofie (a saison) will also be...